


A Series of Firsts

by scarfy36



Category: Glee
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 03:12:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4288530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarfy36/pseuds/scarfy36
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Over their years at Dalton, Nick and Jeff experienced a series of firsts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Time They Met

**Author's Note:**

> I had originally posted each of these stories individually, but they also make sense a series so I've made some slight edits and posted them again here.
> 
> Content warning for mentions of self harm in chapters 3 & 4.

Dalton was huge. There were buildings and hallways and classrooms everywhere Jeff looked, and in his opinion they really weren’t labelled very well. A sign here or there wouldn’t hurt to help him on his first day of freshman year.

After walking past the door three times before finally realising that it was the right classroom, Jeff made it to his first class just in time. It seemed he was the last person to get there, with only one spare seat in the middle row between a chubby brown-haired boy and a dark-haired boy with an attractive face.

He sat down as the teacher introduced himself and the semester outline was handed out. Jeff’s hand brushed against the hand of the dark-haired boy beside him and he blushed as he passed him the sheet.

“I’m Nick,” the boy introduced himself.

“Jeff,” he replied, trying to stop the crush he was beginning to get on this boy. He was out to his parents and they were accepting, but after getting bullied so much in middle school he had decided to keep to himself and not stir up trouble at Dalton.

They chatted together with the boy next them – Trent, he introduced himself as – for the rest of the class about their first-day nerves and where they had come from. They compared class schedules and Jeff saw that he had all but two of his classes with Nick.

The pair sat together again in their next classes and befriended a few more students – a dark-skinned boy named David and another dark-haired boy named Thad – who sat with them at lunch.

Through their conversations Jeff learnt that the other boys were also boarding at Dalton. Jeff’s parents didn’t live too far from the school but he felt that he should get the complete Dalton experience by staying on-campus.

Jeff was excited when he was assigned Trent as his roommate. His excitement only increased when he saw that Nick’s room was only a few down from his own.  Jeff’s mind raced with the possibilities of the exciting things he and his friends would get up to over the next four years.

David’s older brother was in the Warblers and after watching them perform, Jeff knew he would definitely try out. He loved singing and the Warblers were like rock stars. Everyone wanted to be them, so he knew he would have lots of competition.

When he found out Nick was also an aspiring singer, they started practising and Jeff fell even harder for his friend. They sang together every day to practise, and Jeff never had to fake the emotion when they sang love songs.


	2. First Kiss

“Come on guys, let us out,” Jeff called out, banging on the door of the supply closet.

“You know they’re not going to let us out until they get what they want,” Nick said, sitting down on an upturned crate.

“We’re not letting you out until you two have a serious conversation,” Trent said from the other side of the door.

Nick smirked at Jeff, who ceased his banging on the door and leant his forehead against the wood.

“Fine,” Jeff said, turning around to look at his friend. “So do you know what they want us to–”

“Don’t play dumb, Jeff, you know exactly what they want us to talk about.”

“Everyone but you two can see how freaking smitten you are with each other, please just talk about it,” David called through the door.

“Alright,” Jeff sighed. “Fine. I, uh, I’ve kind of had a crush on you since the first day of freshman year. But I didn’t want to out myself and stir up any trouble so I’ve been keeping it bottled up for the past…” he paused to think for a moment, “year and two months.”

Nick was silent, processing what he had only guessed at, before Jeff prompted him to talk. “Your turn.”

“Well, you came back from summer vacation a foot taller and after you spent the summer dancing… I– I fell for you,” Nick confessed.

“And you didn’t say anything, you just decided to start avoiding me?”

“I didn’t want to screw up our friendship or make you feel uncomfortable.”

Jeff exhaled heavily. “And you thought avoiding me would help you keep our friendship?”

“I didn’t mean to avoid you, it’s just that whenever I was around you I’d get distracted by how soft your hair looked or how nice your arms are or how good it would feel to kiss you – I mean…”

“You really thought about kissing me?”

In the dim light of the supply closet Jeff could see the blush on his friend’s cheeks. “Yeah. All the time.”

Jeff took a tentative step forward and Nick stood up. They both took another step towards each other and Jeff put his hand on Nick’s back, nudging him closer like he had imagined doing for the past year. Their bodies were pressed together, with Nick’s hands on the small of Jeff’s back and Jeff’s hands in Nick’s hair. Jeff tilted his head and leaned in first, his nose nudging the shorter boy’s as their lips touched for the first time.

Jeff pulled back with a grin, saying the words he had wanted to say for the past year and two months. “Nick, will you be my boyfriend?”

“Yes,” Nick said breathlessly, leaning in for another kiss.

When they broke apart the second time they heard voices through the door.

“Do you think they kissed?”

“I think they kissed.”

The two inside laughed as Trent cheered and opened the door for them.


	3. First Time Saying 'I Love You'

“Thad has lacrosse training until six tonight which means my room will be free until six tonight,” Nick said suggestively to Jeff during the last few moments of their last class of the day.

“We’re going to have to most of that then, aren’t we?” he grinned. “I’ll be there in ten.”

The bell rang and Jeff put his books from the day in his room before walking as fast as he could without running to Nick’s room.

Jeff barely had the door closed before Nick was pressed up against him, lips mashed against his own as he was pushed back into the door.

“I’ve been wanting to this all day,” Nick said, moving his lips down his boyfriend’s neck.

 “Bed,” Jeff said, not trusting himself to say anything more without moaning from his boyfriend’s amazing mouth. He shoved Nick slightly and they found the bed, breaking contact as little as possible and shedding their blazers.

Nick’s lips found Jeff’s again as they sat on Nick’s bed, the blonde pushing his boyfriend into the wall slightly. Nick’s hands roamed across his boyfriend’s back and Jeff trailed his hands along Nick’s waist.

Nick sucked at the pulse point on his boyfriend’s neck and the blonde arched his neck, panting in pleasure. Nick’s hands untucked Jeff’s shirt and began undoing the buttons. Jeff kissed his boyfriend’s forehead while he worked, making Nick smile.

The last of Jeff’s buttons were undone, but Nick was too impatient to undo his own. He pulled his own uniform shirt over his head and began to slide his boyfriend’s off his shoulders.

“Stop,” Jeff shook his head, avoiding eye contact with the other boy.

“Too fast?” Nick asked.

“No, just… sorry, I should go,” Jeff said quietly, standing up and pulling his blazer back on, hastily doing up the buttons in his shirt. “You did nothing wrong,” he added, answering Nick’s unspoken question.

“Come back later?” Nick offered, walking over to his boyfriend.

“Probably not,” Jeff shook his head, opening the door.

Nick frowned but accepted Jeff’s fleeting kiss goodbye. He sighed, leaning on the doorjamb, and watching his boyfriend disappear down the hallway.

“Put a shirt on, dude,” David said as he walked past.

OoO

Nick distracted himself for a while with homework and going over some sheet music, but after a while nothing could stop his thoughts from trailing back to Jeff. Things had been going well – really well – between them, but the second he went to take his shirt off, it was like a switch flipped and he became so closed off. He could have brushed it off as not being ready to make out shirtless – which would be completely understandable – but it seemed like something else.

Nick made it nearly two hours before he found himself in front of Jeff and Trent’s door. He knocked and Trent called out for him to come in.

“He’s in the bathroom,” Trent told him. “He seemed kind of upset, did you two get into a fight or something?”

“No, he just went kind of weird before,” Nick said, frowning concernedly.

“Do I want to know what you were doing?”

“We were just making out and I went to take his shirt off–”

“Oh,” Trent nodded, comprehending more than Nick did.

“What?”

“Uh…” Trent looked shiftily around the room, trying to find a distraction from Nick’s curiosity.

Nick chewed in his bottom lip, debating between finding out what Trent meant and barging in to the bathroom to bathroom to speak to Jeff directly. The need to see his boyfriend won over, Nick knocked on the bathroom adjoining the dorm room before opening it and stepping inside.

It took a few moments to comprehend the sight in front of him when he went into the bathroom. Jeff was sitting on the lid of the toilet, his shirt on the floor by the door. His face was red and tear-tracked but he didn’t seem to be crying anymore. The sight that caught Nick’s eyes before all of that was Jeff’s left arm. Horizontal scars ran up and down his forearm in varying degrees of fadedness – some looked months or years old, some weeks and days, and there were a few still bleeding.

Jeff looked up when Nick walked in, his big, wet eyes full of fear and panic. Nick took slow steps towards his boyfriend and bent down to wrap his arms around Jeff’s shirtless body.

“I’m sorry,” Jeff said quietly.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Nick shook his head, releasing his boyfriend and leaning against the sink.

“I was going to tell you eventually,” Jeff admitted. “I don’t know when, but I was going to.”

Nick nodded, unsure what to say next. “Sorry for barging in, I should have–”

“No, don’t be,” Jeff cut his apology off. “I’m sort of glad you did. The guilt of keeping it from you would have eaten me alive, especially after tonight.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

Jeff shook his head. “Trent knows, but he sort of saw it rather than me actually telling him, and he’s the only one that knows.”

“Come here,” Nick held out his hand. Jeff took it, standing up and allowing himself to be enveloped in his boyfriend’s arms.

“You don’t hate me for it?” Jeff asked timidly, his chin resting on Nick’s shoulder.

“Of course not,” Nick leant his head against his boyfriend’s. “I don’t really understand it, but I could never hate you.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” Nick stepped back slightly, his right arm trailing down the outside of Jeff’s left, holding his hand and bringing the scarred forearm to his lips. “I love you.” It was the first time he had said those words to his boyfriend, but he meant them. He gently kissed some of the scars on Jeff’s forearm. “And nothing’s going to change that.”

Jeff was crying again, but these seemed to be a different kind of tears than before.

“Do you want to go back into your room and talk?” Nick asked gently. “Not that I’m not enjoying your bathroom, but maybe we could kick Trent out?”

“Sure,” Jeff gave a watery laugh.

Trent wasn’t in the room when they went back, most likely giving the pair the space they needed. They sat down opposite each other on Jeff’s bed, Nick still holding Jeff’s left hand.

“Do you mind if I ask you about why…”

“About why I started cutting?” Jeff finished for him. Nick nodded and squeezed his hand. “I started a few months before I came to Dalton. I was just miserable all the time, school sucked and everyone hated the gay kid.” Nick squeezed his hand comfortingly, having gone through a similar experience before finding sanctuary at Dalton. “I never quite got it when other people talked about it, but one day the blade was just there and I tried it and it felt… not good exactly, but almost exhilarating. It’s kind of hard to describe, but it was a distraction and it seemed to help so I kept doing it. I sort of stopped once I came here, but every now and then something will push me over the edge.”

“Is your arm the only place you–”

“Yeah.”

“Next time something happens and you feel like you want to hurt yourself again, please talk to me?” Nick requested. “I don’t care where I am or what time it is, I want you to tell me and I’ll do everything I can to make you feel better.”

Jeff nodded, shifting over on the bed to lean his head against Nick’s shoulder again.

“I love you, too,” Jeff said.


	4. The First Time Nick Met Jeff's Parents (as boyfriends)

_Jeff: Nick, can you come over?_

_Nick: Are you okay?_

_Jeff: I don’t know, I just don’t want to be alone in my head right now._

_Nick: I’m on my way, I’ll be there in 15 minutes._

_Nick: Stay strong for me, I love you._

Winter break was ending in a week and Nick couldn’t wait to go back to Dalton. His family were dysfunctional at best and he missed being with the Warblers, but above all he missed seeing Jeff every day. Since their first kiss in the supply closet, the two had been almost inseparable.

Nick had found out about Jeff’s self-harming behaviour a few weeks after they began dating. Though he wasn’t particularly thrilled with the idea, he accepted that sometimes Jeff just needed to do it. Nick knew that all he could do for his boyfriend was be there when he needed him.

Thirteen minutes after he sent the last text, Nick knocked on the door to Jeff’s house. It was dark and cold, around eight in the evening. Jeff’s mother answered the door and Nick asked if he could see Jeff. He had been over to Jeff’s a few times in their freshman year and earlier that year, but never as boyfriends. Nick didn’t know whether Jeff had told his parents they had started dating.

Nick raced up the stairs and turned left, following the path he knew would lead him to Jeff’s bedroom.

“Jeff?” he knocked on the door.

“Nick?” Jeff’s pale face greeted him when he opened the door.

“I’m here,” Nick took his boyfriend’s hand and squeezed it as the blonde led him to sit on the bed. “Is there a new cut to kiss better?”

“No,” Jeff shook his head with a slight smile.

Nick wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, trying to convey his feelings through the hug. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I love you,” Jeff said.

“I love you, too,” Nick said, sealing the words with a kiss to his boyfriend’s lips.

“You two have something you want to tell us?” Jeff’s father asked from the doorway with a smirk, making both boys jump.

“Uh, yeah,” Jeff said, a blush creeping up his cheeks as he looked at his father. “Nick and I are dating now. Nick’s my boyfriend.”

“Door stays open from now on then, alright?” Both boys on the bed nodded and Mr Sterling walked downstairs, seemingly satisfied.


	5. The First Time They Play Matchmaker

“Duval, get out,” Hunter pointed to the open door he had just walked through.

Nick was lying on top of Jeff (thankfully for Hunter, both were wearing clothes for once) making out with the him on his bed in Hunter and Jeff’s dorm room.

Nick grumbled but stood up, picking his blazer up off the floor before giving his boyfriend a parting kiss and closing the door behind himself.

“You couldn’t have been a little more polite?” Jeff turned to his roommate.

“It’s almost past curfew, he has to go back to his own room,” Hunter shrugged.

“Like you never break curfew,” Jeff scoffed. “It’s not like it’s actually enforced.”

“I only broke it twice when rehearsals went over-time, I had feasible excuses. Duval sucking your face is not a reasonable excuse.”

“Would it be a reasonable excuse if it was Sebastian in here making out with you? I’ve seen the way you look at him and I bet you wouldn’t mind breaking curfew if it were him–” Hunter shoved Jeff, knocking over a desk chair and sending Jeff stumbling.

Jeff merely smirked, sensing that what he said was true – Hunter had feelings for Sebastian. “Or would he have to be doing more than making out to warrant breaking curfew? Those lips would sure feel nice around–” It was Hunter’s right hook that shut him up that time.

Jeff retaliated with his own punch to the face, followed by a jab to Hunter’s gut.

“That all you got Military boy?” Jeff wasn’t sure why he was egging on the bigger boy, but tension had been rising between them since Hunter moved into Jeff’s room.

“Where the hell did you learn to fight like that?” It wasn’t Hunter that asked that, but Sebastian. It seemed their fight hadn’t been quiet and there was a gathering crowd of boys at their door.

Hunter blushed red, hoping that Sebastian hadn’t heard what they were fighting about.

“I taught him,” Nick said, appearing behind their ex-captain.

“You, Duval?” Sebastian asked, incredulous.

“He didn’t want to join Dalton Fight Club but he wanted to learn to defend himself so I was happy to teach him,” Nick shrugged.

“Wait, there’s a Dalton Fight Club?” Hunter found his voice. “Why did no one tell me about that?”

“No one’s supposed to talk about it, that was one of the first rules Blaine made when we created the club,” Thad piped up.

“Blaine was in it?” Sebastian asked.

“He started it,” Nick nodded.

Sebastian looked thrown but his attention was returned to the two roommates when Jeff wiped a trickle of blood from beneath his left eye. “What were you two fighting about anyway?”

Jeff looked to Hunter, he didn’t like the Captain but he wasn’t cruel enough to expose his secret like that.

“It doesn’t matter,” Hunter avoided looking at his roommate.

“Jeff?” Nick asked, looking confusedly at his boyfriend.

“Like Hunter said – it doesn’t matter,” Jeff took one last look at his roommate before turning to Nick. “Can you help me find some ice for my eye?”

“Sure,” Nick said, taking Jeff’s hand and leading him to the kitchens.

“What the hell was that about, Hunter?” Sebastian repeated once Jeff and Nick were gone.

“I told you, it doesn’t matter,” Hunter answered resolutely.

“It better not happen again, because if this interferes with Warblers or if a teacher finds out–”

“It’s done, alright?” Hunter cut him off. “I’ll talk to Sterling when he gets back and we’ll sort it out ourselves.”

“Good,” Sebastian nodded.

“Now all of you clear out, you should all be asleep,” Hunter scolded the remaining boys.

Jeff returned half an hour later, the bruise around his eye formed into a deep shade of purple.

“I’m staying with Nick tonight, Thad doesn’t mind and I thought you might want some space.”

“I got out of hand tonight hitting you,” Hunter apologised. “Just, please don’t tell anyone, especially Sebastian.”

“I won’t,” Jeff promised. “But you should.”

OoO

“Dalton Academy is well known for its zero-tolerance on bullying policy. It is that policy that allows our school to be safe learning environment, free from fear of harassment,” the Dean was pacing behind of her desk. “Why, then, do I have two boys sitting in front of me, clearly bruised and cut-up from a fight?” Her gaze fell sternly on Hunter and Jeff.

Neither boy spoke, so she continued. “I have word that there was a loud crashing noise coming from your room shortly after curfew last night. Does this have anything do to with how either of you sustained your injuries?” Both boys remained silent. “You two were the only people in that dorm room, and the only people sporting bruises. Your honesty here will not go unrewarded.”

Hunter finally spoke, telling an abridged version of the events of the previous night. “Jeff and I had a disagreement and it turned physical, but we restrained ourselves before things got too out of hand.”

The Dean sighed and sat down behind her desk. “Who threw the first punch?”

Hunter exhaled heavily, “I did.”

“He wasn’t unprovoked,” Jeff added. “I may have said some – uh, things – that I knew would upset him.”

“You want to share the blame?” The boys nodded. “Two weeks of campus arrest and after-school detention. We take our no-bullying policy very seriously here, if this happens again you may not have a place at Dalton much longer.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they said together.

She dismissed them and Jeff found Nick waiting outside her office.

“What did she say?” he asked.

“She asked us what happened and we told her,” Jeff explained. “A week of campus arrest and detentions, but I suppose we deserved it.”

“You’re still not going to tell me what it was about?”

“I promised him I wouldn’t,” Jeff shook his head. Nick raised a curious eyebrow. “It’s complicated, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you look pretty badass with a black eye and it’s kind of a turn on,” Nick smirked.

“What’s Thad doing after classes today?”

“I think he’s got soccer training, why?”

“I’m taking you up on the black eye being a turn on,” Jeff grinned.

OoO

“Tie on the doorknob next time guys, we didn’t work out that system for nothing!” Thad shouted, his hands covering his eyes as he hastily retreated from his and Nick’s room.

“I’ve got half a mind to ask to room with you so we don’t have to deal with them anymore,” Hunter appeared behind Thad.

“The amount of sleep they’d end up losing would be terrible for everyone,” Thad shook his head. “And I don’t think the walls are soundproof enough for that either.”

“Hmm, I suppose,” Hunter mused. “So are you in this Dalton Fight Club? I’m intrigued by it.”

“I am, I joined when Blaine made it in sophomore year,” Thad explained. “He had taken up boxing after his attack to learn to defend himself and he felt that we should have those skills as well. It’s fairly informal, we meet every now and then to practise some self-defence and boxing skills.”

“And do you accept new members?”

“Not regularly, it’s more of an invitation-only kind of thing. People aren’t supposed to know about it unless they’re in it so we haven’t really had any issues before,” Thad said. “Anyway, I have to go find somewhere to study without getting my eyes burned by my roommate’s naked ass. I’ll see you in Warbler rehearsal, Hunter.”

“See you,” he responded, mulling over their conversation.

OoO

“Sebastian was staring at your ass again tonight,” Jeff said as he and Hunter made their way back from Warbler rehearsal.

“Don’t lie to me to, Sterling, it’s not helping.”

“I’m not lying,” Jeff said adamantly. “Your ass, your lips, any part of you that looks good – which is most of it, by the way – he was staring at.”

“Saying that he was, what am I supposed to do about it?”

“Well I’m a big fan of grand romantic gestures, but I’m sure just telling him you like him might help,” Jeff shrugged.

Hunter sighed. “I have a girlfriend…”

“You barely talk about her, something tells me she doesn’t mean all that much to you.”

“Even if that were the case, I just don’t know if I could.”

“Let’s make a deal,” Jeff offered. “If you haven’t told him by Warbler practice tomorrow, I’ll tell him. It’s either that or I lock both of you together somewhere, that’s how they got me and Nick to finally get together.”

“You know what, fine. Deal,” Hunter offered a hand and Jeff shook it, confirming their agreement.

OoO

Hunter barely saw Sebastian the next day and they were almost always surrounded by other people, so he didn’t get the chance to talk to him alone. Jeff didn’t take that for an excuse and when Hunter told him that he hadn’t spoken to Sebastian yet, he knew he’d have to hold up on his end of the deal.

With five minutes remaining of the rehearsal, the Warblers were sitting around discussing potential songs to perform when Jeff stood up on one of the tables.

Hunter’s eyes grew wide. “Jeff, don’t you dare,” he hissed.

Jeff smirked in his direction before speaking. “My fellow Warblers, two of our own are in dire need of our romantic interference,” he began. “Though sometimes slightly extreme, the Warblers have done nothing but good for the love lives of its members – with the exclusion of the GAP attack of course, but we don’t talk about that anymore.”

Jeff scanned the room, taking in the curious expressions of his teammates, noticing the winces of those present during the unspeakable event that Valentine’s Day.

“If I have to sit through one more Warbler rehearsal with Hunter and Sebastian mentally undressing each other when they think no one’s looking, I may go insane. You two better get your shit together before I do what they did to me and Nick. It worked then and I know where the key to that storage room is.” A few eyebrows around the room were raised, but many people seemed to have been expecting the announcement.

Sebastian was staring at Hunter, who was looking anywhere but at the ex-captain. Hunter caught his roommate’s eye and Jeff merely shrugged, saying that they had a deal.

Jeff stepped off the table and resumed his seat, looking pointedly at Hunter. The Captain refused to move until he saw Sebastian stand up. Sebastian looked towards Hunter and then took a few steps towards the door. When the he realised what the other boy was doing, Hunter followed him into the corridor outside.

Inside, the Warblers fell silent, with those nearest the door peering through the cracks to spy on the two outside, where they were standing and staring at each other.

Sebastian was the one that closed the distance, pressing his lips to Hunter’s and tangling one hand in his hair. Once the message had been relayed inside, the Warblers erupted into cheers and cries of “finally,” not unlike they had when Nick and Jeff emerged from the storage room as boyfriends.

When the cheering died down, the freshman warbler who had been peering through the door announced that Hunter and Sebastian were gone.

“They have months of pent-up sexual frustration to work through,” Jeff whispered to Nick. “I really hope they went to Sebastian’s room.”


End file.
